Mrs. Clendenin was nominated to be the teacher of the month for September! She was asked three questions, and here are her responses:
1: Out of all the classes you teach, which one is your favorite and why?
“This is a tough one because there are different things that I like about each class. I generally like the growth that I get to see with the lower grades in World History. I love seeing how they progress through the year and are more comfortable with group discussions and presentations by the end. On the other hand I love that in Psychology I generally get to have students that I have had before and now get to have them as upperclassmen, and I have really come to enjoy seeing how much they have matured.”
2: You are one of the teachers who manages tutoring, how well do you believe that helps students? What’s your overall thoughts about the after school tutoring?
“This is my 3rd year helping with after school tutoring, and I absolutely love some of the relationships that I have been able to build with it. We have some students who voluntarily come all year, and I have had the chance to get to know some students much better because of it. I most definitely think this program is making a difference with our students and their academic success. I personally talk to all of my students with D’s of F’s and try to encourage them to come to tutoring each week. If I don’t get a positive response from them, I generally talk to their parents and haven’t had a parent yet that wasn’t supportive of their child staying for tutoring. Because of this, I have had very few failing grades for my students.”
3: And finally, what motivates you to wake up in the morning and continue to work here at Chester High School?
“I could probably write pages for this question! I absolutely love my job and feel very privileged that I get the opportunity to be a part of my students’ lives. I love the amount of hard working students that I get to see each semester, and am always blown away with some of the critical thinking that I get to see from my students. I love that when I’m having a tough day there always seems to be a student that is in tune with that, and motivates me to get over the hump of whatever I’m letting drag me down. I love the relationships that I have been able to build with some of my students. I also love the awesome staff that I have the privilege of working with and am always inspired by the way so many go above and beyond for our school!”
Thank you Mrs. Clendenin for taking the time to answer my questions!